Umbrella Revolution Wall 2014

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Hong Kong enjoys (still without universal suffrage) more of a semblance of freedom, but Mainland now is flexing its muscles. The world consumes its goods and the world is hooked on cheap goods. Yeah, every trip to Wal-Mart, every new piece of clothing from the Gap, every shiny thing you covet...someone is paying the price. Our consumerism has elevated the living situation of a good many in this nation, but many more remain in poverty and countless are jailed due to their beliefs. And China is powerful. It no longer feels the obligation it has in the past to its trading partners on issues of human rights or climate change, for that matter.

Note to my Chinese friends: Being critical of particular aspects of a country's policies does not mean that one (namely, an outsider like myself) disrespects its entire people or culture. There are many Chinese who think and dream this dream--that their nation will act fairly and that it will honor the dignity of those who speak out for a country that honors freedom of expression.Let them find strength and courage in the name of Liu Xiaobo. Let them know that there are those who will support their desire for a better nation.

Leading Chinese dissident jailed

Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been jailed for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power", after a trial condemned in the West.

The trial, from which Western diplomats and journalists were barred, followed Mr Liu's co-authorship of a document last year urging political reform.

Several people were apparently hurt at a Hong Kong protest over the sentence.

The human rights group Amnesty International condemned the sentence, saying freedom of speech was at stake.

The US also denounced the sentence. China has accused Washington and the EU of meddling in its affairs.

The BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing says the sentence shows China does not want anyone to challenge its authority.

'Release him'

"All I can tell you now is 11 years," the defendant's wife, Liu Xia, told reporters. Diplomats said they were told by Mr Liu's lawyers that he had been deprived of his political rights for a further two years.

ANALYSIS Micky Bristow, BBC News, Beijing

Liu Xiaobo's sentence could have been worse - he could have been given a maximum of 15 years in prison but no-one is yet suggesting that the activist got off lightly.

Human rights groups and others with knowledge of China's legal system say this is a harsh sentence. Amnesty International said that according to their records this is the longest sentence handed down for this charge since 2003, perhaps longer.

China's Communist Party leaders appear to be sending a message to anyone else who might want to challenge their total grip on power: don't. Chinese people have been given many freedoms since reforms were first begun 30 years ago, but this sentence shows that they have only very limited political rights.

There was immediate US reaction to the sentencing.

"We continue to call on the government of China to release him immediately and to respect the rights of all Chinese citizens to peacefully express their political views in favour of universally recognised fundamental freedoms," said embassy official Gregory May at the courthouse.

Mr May was one of a dozen diplomats - from the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries - stopped by authorities from attending the trial and sentencing.

"Persecution of individuals for the peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognised norms of human rights," Mr May said.

Photographs taken outside China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong on Friday show three people being treated on the pavement for injuries.

The Associated Press, which released the images, said a security guard, a protester and a police officer had been hurt during a protest.

Singled out

Mr Liu is a prominent government critic and veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

“ We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes ” Charter 08

A writer and former university professor, he has been in jail since 2008, after being arrested for writing a document known as Charter 08.

The charter called for greater freedoms and democratic reforms in China, including an end to Communist one-party rule.

Mr Liu is the only person to have been arrested for organising the Charter 08 appeal, but others who signed it have reportedly being harassed.

Amnesty International said it condemned the sentence imposed on Mr Liu and was "deeply concerned for other Charter 08 signatories and freedom of expression in China".

"Liu Xiaobo's detention and trial show that the Chinese government will not tolerate Chinese citizens participating in discussions about their own form of government," said Sam Zarifi, director of Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Programme.

In earlier interviews with the BBC, co-signatories of the Charter said they were ready to be punished alongside Mr Liu - not to admit they had done anything wrong, but to stress their ideas were the same.

Abolishing the law on inciting to subvert state power is among the reforms advocated in Charter 08. "We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes," the petition says.

"[Mr Liu] has worked to try to find a way to allow the ordinary citizen to criticise the government or to make proposals to the government, on how the people can participate in government," the head of the law firm defending him, Mo Shaoping, told AFP.

"We pleaded not guilty - his crime is a crime of speech," he said.

More than 300 international writers including Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco and Margaret Atwood have called for Liu's release, saying he should be allowed to express his opinion.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8430409.stm

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Random--but yeah, I have not gotten it together with LinkedIn so apologies if I have not added anyone out there who needs to be added. I may even have two accounts. So please don't take my non response to the emails as a personal affront.

Tmrrow is Xmas. Pride and Prejudice chat in the AM with Stephen and Margaret. Then onto the bikes and up the mountains of Mui Wo to an eve event at Kathline, Gary and little Emma's. The 25th is Nessa, John, and some drop ins for dessert.

Menu for the 25th:

Three tapenades: olive, aubergine, cheese

Salmon wrapped in Prosciutto with lentilsChap Chae noodlesSweet Red pepper and green bean saladpotatoes. sweet and standard, plus carrots roastedtabboulehsomething else--but I forget...but yeah, keeping it simple this year, not as many dishes.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

China does not want international monitoring. The U.S. imposition of a tariff on goods that fail to adhere to carbon emissions may do something. The U.S. consumes an extraordinary amount of fossil fuel.

Ugh.

But here in Mui Wo, it's just raining in December. This is very unusual. Global warming.

Our Beloved Green Bog is rapidly disappearing. This place won't look the same in 10 years. It won't look the same in 5.

There are so many cars here now. Trying to think about our family's carbon footprint and what we can do to reduce it. We have no microwave, dishwasher, clothes dryer, hair dryer or car now. The car was a discussion in our household a while back. You can get them very cheap here from expats leaving and gas prices and registration and insurance fees are fairly low. But how often would we use a car? And didn't we hate this part of LA life? Driving? So I told Stephen, as long as we live here in Mui Wo, if we never have a car, we'll never have car headaches. I definitely do not miss it. Oh, how Keohi longs for a car. He takes one car ride with a friend and talks about it for weeks on end. He asks me if I like sports cars or taxis. I tell him I like bikes. Not motorbikes, but bikes...

Once we move, the place will be bigger, but we'll still have no microwave, dishwasher, dryers, or car. And we'll eliminate the TV. It's here with the rental, but we won't get another one, at least for a while. But our fridge will be bigger and we'll have more cooling to do in the summer.

It's just about consumption, really. How to consume less. Shop less. Buy less.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Live a plane ride away from your home (in another country).One week holiday per year. (You are often discouraged from taking this, but at least you have it, unlike some other countries.)One day holiday per week. (Again, you’re glad you don’t live in Singapore. You get one day off a month. And should you get stuck in Lebanon, why, you might only have one day off in seven years.)Before going on your one day off per week, you must cook, clean, and do the dishes. After coming in from your day off, you must do the same. It’s really not a day off. It’s a half day off. Actually, it’s a one third day off.Public holidays. Some, but not all. Again, before going on your public holiday, you must do the same thing as you do before going on your weekly holiday.Work hours: 12-17 on average (my guestimate).Speak in non-native language all day long.Your employer may lend you out whenever s/he feels like it. It’s against the law, but you’re lucky if your employer doesn’t do this. But if s/he doesn’t do this, it’s not because of any sense of fairness (usually), but because s/he wants you to do work at his/her own house, anyway. You’re not a slave, but you’re often close to being an indentured servant.Natives of the country in which you work, usually do not respect you. This is often because you have darker skin, you are also poor. This is why you are a migrant labor. People who respect people who are rich. So often, the natives don't respect you.Endure physical and mental abuse more frequently than not.Feel lucky if you eat enough.Feel lucky if you sleep enough.Feel lucky if you’re not beaten.Wish to be hired by a Western family. For the most part, the Westerners treat you better, although not always. Some Westerners like their curtains ironed 12 times in 3 days. Some don't give you a day off at all. Well, maybe it's not so great.You don’t want to be hired by an Indian family. You understand there is a caste system. And your friend got burned by an iron. But maybe, you realize, it's all the same anyway.You are in Hong Kong and the majority of people here are Chinese, but you would rather not be hired by a Chinese family. You want a Western family, really. You do, you think.Westerners seem nice, but the bottom line is that they usually think little of your culture. But hey, that’s like most everyone else. You know this. You bear it in silence. But after the Western family kept trying to kick you out whenever they went on holiday and make you pay your plane fare back to your country, you got hired by a Chinese family and it was better. They were nicer. Go figure. Maybe the Westerners aren't so great after all.You definitely don't want to be hired by your fellow countrymen/women. Yes, they're the worst. Your friends have been beaten, ripped off, cheated, and made to work without any day off. And these are from the people who share your language, nationality, and culture. And your friends--some of them are even working for their own relatives.People don’t want your children to speak your language because it is “not useful.” (There are 90 million people in the Philippines and 228 million in Indonesia. But yes, it’s not a “useful” language. Mostly because your native country is poor and has been colonized. Heaven forbid that your employer’s child make friends with one who speaks your native language.)The other reason people don’t want their children you raise, love, bathe, feed, dress, sing to, and play with, to speak your language, is that they fear that their children will either love you more, or you will cast some wicked spell on them and turn them against their parents. They want to know every word that you are saying to their child. This is because many of their parents treat you like crap and know that they do, and yeah, they have reasonable fears then, that you might say something terrible to their kids.People say this about your culture: “Wow, but those people can really sing and dance!”You work hard so that your employers values your work and hope that when you are entitled to your six year long term service bonus, you will actually get it. This is why you want a Western employer. You’ve heard that they are more likely to give it than a local employer—make that Asian employer (and this includes people of your own nationality, who are often the worst employers ever.) In fact, you’ve never met a local employer who has given it, although you are pretty sure that one would, one must…right?You talk about going to Canada. England. Anywhere. But it’s far and cold. But still, you know that you should go. When you’re feeling brave and your husband back home quits asking you for money, you may indeed go.You look at your fellow countrywomen who hooked up with a guy who is 35 years older and twice your body weight and think she’s lucky. She’s not a helper anymore. She is lucky.You don’t want this life for your daughter, niece, or granddaughter. But you’re not sure how to avoid this from happening.You don’t want to die a helper in Hong Kong.

So you respond to these conditions in any number of ways:

You find God.You go out and get wildly drunk in Wanchai and sleep with strangers, sometimes for money.You move very slowly. Very very very slowly.You cry instead of ask. You become extremely passive aggressive.You get pregnant and hope you can get permanent residency in Hong Kong. No one really explained that you can’t, but the rumor is out there, so you just go with that.You try to find true love over the Internet.You find God. Again.You find another employer.You have fun. You’re abroad. You’re independent for the first time in your life. Things could be much worse. You could be back at home, unemployed, with no money.You remind yourself that your family is fed and clothed because of what you endure.You have big dreams.You have small dreams.You just stop dreaming.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I was having a discussion with a friend who said to me (I paraphrase) —“Life in Asia is not neat. You’ve got to engage with it…it’s in your face…there is no outsourcing of experience.” My friend is Asian, from Malaysia, a longtime U.S. citizen, complete with American husband and son. I was thinking about this a great deal this week—grappling with my own questions about how I perceive life here versus life in the West. What is it that challenges and disturbs? How does one negotiate and navigate life here? What really is the difference between life here and the US, if one subscribes to the idea that human beings are at their core, so similar in their yearnings and needs.

Life here is in your face. It all unfolds in front of you. There is no instant experience, or if there is one, it’s only for a brief spell and then boom—there you are out the door and face to face with a reminder that you cannot escape the steps here, the details. You watch them all happen.

Take the chicken. Should one want to buy a chicken there are several possibilities. A dead chicken, mind you (they are closing or have recently, the live chicken markets due to constant bird flus). You can go to your wet market, or you can go to the supermarket. There are also some butcher shops on HK Island or Kowloon, but I can’t haul meat, especially in the summer for over an hour on the ferry. So, I usually go to the local supermarket, sometimes the gourmet supermarket in the city.

I don’t buy meat at the wet market. I admit it—it makes me feel a little queasy. It’s cheaper, but I don’t care and pay more. In the summer with the flies buzzing around, the smell and bloodstains…the meat is probably more fresh, but it seems definitely less appetizing. I am from a prepackaged, prefab society, and have prefab tendencies, I try to overcome these feelings, but can’t. I don’t feel this about butcher shops, let’s say, in England. Not that keen on the smell of blood. But I can deal with it knowing that England has a degree of health standards and Mainland China with its food labeling problems is not over the border. Anyway, the open market meat here really is an appetite killer.

OK, so for you who want to buy a chicken at the market, you can go and get one whole. It’s a chicken from China. So that in itself is a risk, given the food labeling issues (melamine in infant formula for starters) they’ve had and continue to have. But the chicken comes with the head and the feet. The organs are in there, but it’s not all packaged like in the US. You, the buyer, must chop off that head and feet. And it’s a scrawny chicken usually. Fewer hormones? Who knows. Ultimately, you outsource this chopping of the head and feet should you want a whole chicken.

In the States, I would go and buy a chicken at the supermarket and would happily get my plump bird horomone jacked up and all, with no head and no feat and with the internal organs neatly wrapped up. I would pick organic and pay a little more, or regular and pay a little less. Each chicken weighed the same…chicken after chicken. I had some level of faith in the packaging, that what it said was true. (Stupid, I know, but everyone likes to fool him or herself now and then). Obviously how the head and feet were cut off is not my concern. I just got the neat package. The mass production of meat to bring these millions of chickens in this way to this store that I drove my car to was not really a daily concern of mine. You can actually buy imported chicken here. And take pleasure in knowing that your chicken is certified organic and it costs a fortune and you used tons of fossil fuels getting that bird over here. How can you be an environmentalist if you import everything anyway? (Another story for later….)

Here in HK, the truth is you don’t know as much about your chicken—where it’s from. You don’t really believe the label. It says its from Guandong, but hell, it could be from Shaanxi and packaged in Guandong. But you do know that this chicken had one head and has two feet. The chicken may come in various weights, but it’s never as plump as the cheap chicken in the US.

So, where does that leave the chicken buyer? Well obviously, you’d prefer to buy the chicken in the US. But really, why? Because you can’t deal with that limp head with those closed gray eyes and that skinny neck. Because you don’t want to look at the toenails on the chicken feet. Because you believe the packaging in the US (maybe some stupid remote belief in the FDA that you should not have) and don’t believe for a single second, the packaging here. Because it’s just messier here in HK and you, the buyer, must deal with that mess. You the buyer, must throw that chicken head down your rubbish bin or fry up those feet (if you want, I am never inclined in that way, myself), or do whatever it is you do with those parts of the chicken. I was wondering how many people would stop cooking chicken if they had to deal with cutting off the head. For me, it makes me less inclined to cook a whole chicken, frankly. That’s a sad statement about me as a person, really. It means I want to eat the meat, but can’t deal with the mess of what it means to eat that chicken. The industrial process of farming, butchering, and selling meat. As an American raised on plastic packaging, I’m divorced from what it takes to bring that meat to the table. As I’ve gotten older, I’m less interested in eating meat, but I still eat it. It’s admittedly my very American side. I’m not the air freshener loving American—I do not require everything to be sanitized to the point of lavender, but I’m not exactly chomping on chicken feet instead of popcorn either.

Of course, we can then talk about outsourcing (or rather internal outsourcing) to the helpers—but this speaks for the middle and upper classes of Hong Kong and not the vast majority of China. We’ll get to the helper discussion and the complications of migrant labor in another blog. Stay tuned…so to continue…

And what about big box stores? Take Home Depot. When Stephen and I renovated our place in Arizona, we bought nearly everything we needed from Home Depot--from blinds to wiring, to paint to lights. You’re on a budget. This is what you do. You don’t have money to do much else. You know there are 10 different types of whatever it is that you need, ranging from cheap to more expensive, but not outlandishly so. It will never be hugely expensive because it’s Home Depot, and you’re fixing everything yourself. That’s the nature of Home Depot. You know that you will get a nice product in a box. You know that someone will tell you exactly how to install it. The price is what it says it is. There is no last minute changing of price. They probably decided the retail price of that item 15 months ago, no make that 36 months ago, before the factory in China filled with 12 year old girls started making it. Anyway, you buy your product. And before you get in your car, like millions of other people who go to Home Depot, you eat that same cheap hot dog and drink that same cheap coke outside on those plastic benches before you go home. You throw away that plastic and paper, creating more rubbish. But you don’t care. You don’t see landfills. You hardly see trash collectors. You definitely do not see old ladies hauling the trash down your small path and lifting huge bags reeking of dog feces and old eggs. You definitely do not run into these black plastic bags on your bike, because you don’t ride a bike. You may ride a huge car. Maybe you bought it when gas was cheap. You use it to haul your big lawnmower. Or maybe, you go wild game hunting. Whatever the reason, you don’t really need that big of a car. Anyway, your neighbors have all the same stuff from Home Depot. You can identify the lights in motel rooms and stranger’s homes and you know that the wall sconce by the bedroom cost 10.99 and was on sale for 9.99 and that’s why they bought 6 for their house and that is why you bought 6 for your house. And you feel a sense of accomplishment when the house is done—you did it, and now, presto, it looks fantastic, and like everyone else’s who went to Home Depot and did a home renovation. What you don’t like to admit to yourself is that Home Depot gobbled up all the small businesses that used to carry pipes and gardening hoses. Home Depot also famously donated money to political causes you don’t care for and in fact, despise with every atom of your body. But you don’t have much choice. Either you go to Home Depot, or you don’t fix your house. BOX STORE OR BUST.

Then you get Wanchai or Lockhart. You wander down this dusty filthy diesel laden street and there is one shop for hinges, another for toilet pipes, and another for window panes. There are millions of products to choose from. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be organized. Some say they are dealers of this bath product brand. But the sign that says that in the shop is probably counterfeit and printed up by some guy’s brother-in-law who owes him a favor for going to pick up the grandma one day. Anyway, these shops have men working shirtless in front of them with no protective eyegear and sparks are flying and they are hammering away and you notice a few missing fingers. A truck swings perilously close to your left foot. You almost bonk into a huge crate of marble slabs. People are busy. Lots of jostling. No one cares. This is China. They’re doing the job. They’re trying to make a buck. One guy’s store might be the size of a peephole. Another guy’s store hasn’t had any customers clearly, since 1995, and has every kind of toilet paper holder you could ever fathom and a great display of glass cups under the statue of a Venus de Milo. You’re just looking for this one thing. A basic sink. You get 4 prices for this sink. You have walked 25 feet and then decide on one of these stores and suddenly the salespeople say, they don’t have it. They’ll get it in stock about 3 months. You can’t buy the floor model. You go to another place. They decide to raise the price on you by an extra 10USD, just for the heck of it. Another asks you how you plan on getting the sink back to your village. Another tells you that this sink is nearly perfect, just has a small scratch blah blah. Forget it. You pay the extra 10USD and the price has gone up an extra 15USD. You don’t care. You pay it. You are sick of the noise. But then you realize, after you are thoroughly tired of this entire scenario, that this is mom-and-pop to the extreme. Sure, there are some who own a string of stores, but this is what it means to see all of the ugly stuff and deal with all the headaches of millions of stores and lots of variety. One place sells the tabletop. The next place sells the table legs. The next place sells the stuff to stick on top of the table to finish it. And then you have to find the guy to come over and install it. But he’s not in. He’s on holiday. His sister is sick. He’ll be gone at least 4 months. Can you wait? You long for Home Depot, and then catch yourself in this abyss of self-loathing. Since when have you ever liked a box store? You hyperventilate in malls, for chrissakes. You see what it takes to package those pipes, missing fingers, bruises and the stench of cigarettes. You don’t see any of this at Home Depot. It’s unfolding right before you. You’re glad for this. It’s just a terrible shopping experience. But in some ways, less belittling than the box store.

There is still more to be said on this subject, but in brief, life here is about dealing with chaos and the raw goods (not even raw, it was made in China, but still more raw than Home Depot, let’s say) versus the packaged chain. I do not like chains at all. Never been a fan of logos either. And here, you don’t have to experience them at all, if you want. Or you can experience them with the label ripped off, at least, sold to you from a box in an alley. What you may get here is a product, a food, or something without a label, and it is up to you to be the discerning one and be able to scrutinize it and decide if its safe, healthy, or what you really want. The joy in this is that it’s all up to you. The downside is there is no sense of order.

Anyway, more later…on outsourcing here. Thinking about this too and what it means to have a civil society….

Friday, December 11, 2009

What hovers over the red and gold?rays of the unbornlights of the beyondgods of the sky, earth.

Spirits.

They feast on coils of sharp scents,charred paper that nips slow fingertips;they imbibe drinks at their feet.

My son worships.He stands in awe.A believer.

The gold monkey.The red faced general.The man on the throne.The porcelain goddess who rules the sea.

He quietly taps the gourd,summons the ghosts,dares to finger the pamplemousse.a recorded warblea golden pineapplewooden carvings of birds and flowersthe clatter of tin and chinaa darting black temple cat.This makes him strong.

The pattern of belief?The beginning of fear or hope?Oh, to walk with faith.This I do not know.

When ghosts descend in our roomhe announces their arrival:“Yum Yum has come to play.”My young son, closer to birththan to death. He knowsThe Other Side.But his journeylike all will endin dust.

The dead quicken in dreams.But this does not console.

Hold fast to dried orange peels and candlesred light bulbs and mirrors.We will be parted as we were joinedpuzzles fit to perfectionsplit by blood and ageflesh that cleaved flesh.Never more than ghosts who wander among us now.Never more than those who grieve what they cannot know.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Yesterday I thought for the first time in months, maybe I can watch a movie on TV. We get the MGM channel. I actually didn't know we even got this channel and was informed by Stephen that we did only four months ago. I obviously wasn't missing much, as the channel is pretty awful. Nothing on it and haven't watched an entire movie on it once. Actually, I haven't seen a movie since I've moved here. I mean to and want to, but somehow have not been able to drag my sorry behind to the movie theater and can't be bothered to buy one at the DVD store.

Anyway, I flick on the channel and note that it is an evening of romantic love movies or some such nonsense that Stephen would surely turn off. Given that he's not in town, it's my opportunity to watch a sappy movie. The logo comes on. The lion roars. Keohi begins to cry and runs. "The tiger on the TV. Scary!" I tell him to come into the kitchen. The lion roars again, it's logo time--between movies or whatever, at which point Keohi yells: "Off. Off. No TV. NO TIGER. Off." He's petrified. There's no discussion of it being only on TV. It's real to him. The lion is about to roar again and I flick it off in mid-roar. I explain to him that the lion is just on TV, but he shakes his head. He's crying and scared.

Even today he said: "Remember, I'm scared of the lion on TV."

I say: "Don't worry. We won't turn on the TV."

Primal fear of a great animal devouring one's very flesh. Shouldn't we all be scared of lions?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Preferably accompanied by satin clad men who bang large drums, strike cymbals and wave banners. Dragons who demand firecracker accompaniment will be met with tears and genuine fright. Streamers and confetti accommodated and appreciated. Manners and deportment required: Do not come too close, especially when batting eyelids and rearing up on hind legs. Hours: Punctuality affords better opportunity. Mornings ideal (although it is understood that most dragons sleep late). After naptime and before bedtime is also suitable. Teabreaks at your convenience. We believe in flexible working hours although telecommuting is not an option. Note that we will not supply small amphibians, rodents, or knights/damsels of fairytale variety for your food. However, we will assist you should you desire to carry off and devour an unwanted villager—within reason, of course. Benefits and compensation: Adoration, Admiration, Emulation, Devotion and many other nouns ending with the ‘tion’ suffix. Drawbacks: Occasional run-ins with local police force due to complaints from villagers. Note: Dragons with prior citations are still welcome to apply. We believe in regeneration and second chances. Dragons of all colors, sizes, and abilities welcome. We embrace diversity. On-the-job-training provided. Dragons who refuse to work festival holiday calendar need not apply. Negotiation of certain standard duties is possible. i.e. store openings. Additionally, we have contract dragons who do the wedding circuit. Position to be filled before the coming Lunar New Year.

With raised fists you shoutcry for drums, point to stars.It is late. Time to go.

Elders sit by the temple doorPopo Apo Abaak Yi yi.Spotted hands, hardship faces.Black trousers, thick sweaters.They see us: a man, a woman, a boy.I meet the look and thick silenceI have come to know.A mistake, a castoffdriven from family, no doubt.And here, evidence of flesh: a small boy all fair hair and dark eyes.

I do not smile—no.They will never know the canyon so farthe deserts we loved and found the sorrow of family the embrace from a wise uncle.Sickness, empty pockets.Oh, how our love raged and stormed—even nowunspoken and uttered, parted and dividedbut still, we are here.

My love and son we move togetherman, woman, and childweave through this dark squarepass the stone ancientsslip out the side fence.We dive into the night where forgiveness lingersin the green.Moon on our backs as gears click steel rattles and bells sound.The honeysuckles rises.With each pedal, a pause, a push, a promise as I race my heart to home.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

We got a kid’s toy bag filled with products from the Disney Movie Ratatouille. This is my delayed response and it will be posted tomorrow to ole Cathay City at the airport. Let me preface this by saying Keohi has a number counting book with this Disney movie theme and it is very clever. The book was a gift from my mother. The rhyme is excellent and the phrasing very witty. It also has lots of cooking terms and he has memorized the French ones like “flambé” and “soufflé,” that appear at the end in a glossary. We’ve enjoyed the book. We’ve never seen the movie.

The form went like this:

How old are you?

2 years 10 months

Gender: boy

How did you like this bag?

I like it a lotI don’t like it very muchI quite like it (note the British English phrase vs. American English ‘It’s pretty good’)I really don’t like it. (I checked this)

Do you like the characters in this kit?

I like them a lot.I don’t like them.I quite like them.I really don’t like them. (I checked this)

Please name 3 of your favorite cartoon characters.(I left this blank. No, I am not helping your marketing team, Cathay.)

Which item in this kit is your favorite?(I left this blank. I guess the playing cards were okay? Keohi uses them now to pile up near his cars.)

What else would you include in this kit?(I left this blank)

Additional comments:I don’t like giving my child commercial tie-in products from Disney. I am not interested in having him associate Disney with his childhood and aiding Disney in creating a lifelong consumer of its company products.

So I decided to catalog his Disney items:

Winnie the Pooh

I have less of an issue with this image—I am partial to it as I had Winnie the Pooh sheets as a kid. (Hmmmm….permanent consumer?) But primarily because I like the fact it is based on a real children’s book.

Book: He has it in his library, a gift from a former work colleague. The original book. NOT the Disney thing. I will not buy this for him. He can watch the movie later. He can read the real book.

Washcloth: Goody bag birthday party gift from a pal’s 2nd birthday

Pooh washmit: Gift from grandma in UK

Pooh tricycle: Gift from grandma in US. Much loved trike. It’s kicking around, but we’re onto training wheels these days. It was during this stage from about 19 months that he began to say “Winnie the Pooh.” Shocked look from Stephen (dismay, distraught, pissed off) when we moved to the stage of Disney Pooh recognition.

Pooh Birthday Mat Squares: 4 big ones in rather garish colors. Purchased by Stephen before we moved to protect Keohi when he was falling all the time learning to walk. Saved some bruises from stone tiles. Now covered by a rug from Ikea. During this early stage when we arrived, Keohi was 14 months and we just said, “Oh, look at the bear!”

Pooh pink backpack: It’s more the color he notices. His favorite. But yes, it is still Pooh from Disney. Stephen did not like the Pooh image.

Flashcard set: A great set from his friend here. These have nature pictures and the Pooh gang on some of the opposite sides. But he seems more interested in the nature images.

The Jungle Book

Book: Copy of the Disney short book from my sister Kath’s library when she was a kid. It came with a record. No record anymore. He loves this book. We watched the one number on youtube of the bear singing. I loved this movie as a kid and Dad took me to it when I was around 3 or 4 years old. Yes, I am partial. Lucky for me, it’s not in vogue so I figured it was OK to bring back to HK this past August as it has few ancillary items for sale in the store. Is this hypocritical or what?

Cars

Saw this movie. At the El Capitain theatre in LA no less, complete with stage show and screaming young kids with my former Arizona community college student and friend Ahmed. A cute movie. Not sure how I feel about the glorification of autos given global warming. I’d be more into a movie about bikes. Since he hasn’t seen this movie and I know he would be crazy for it if he ever did, he’s not watching it.

Toy cars: He has a series of cheap set of 5 cars we got from the local shop. I think they may be knock offs of some version of this movie. Not really sure.

Pajamas: He got a free pair of worn PJ hand-me-downs at the Eco-Swap. He knows the PJs as car pajamas.

I think that’s about it.

He also had or has the following other commercial products.

1. Hand me down Snoopy Pants or Jeans. He loved these. He called them “Snoopy Pants.” A big winter favorite. He also still has stretch knit “Snoopy Pink Pants.” Nothing else with Snoopy

2. Thomas the Tank Engine: Railroad set and book. Not a lot of passion for Thomas in particular, but I’ve never let him watch the show. He can’t watch it anyway, we don’t get the channel.

3. A Spiderman toy to stick on the window. He likes this. He got it from the Eco Swap. We call it “Spiderman.” He also has noted a friend’s Spiderman tricycle. Spiderman could be a big deal. I sang the theme song chorus from the animated TV series from the 1960s Spiderman to him. Spiderman, where are you going, oh Spiderman. Nobody knows who you are….” I sing it about 10 times in a row as he sticks Spiderman to the window. He orders me to sing the song. Yeah. I’m brainwashing him. A good time is had by all with Spiderman.

4. Bob the Builder: He has a bulldozer—a gift from a relative. The bulldozer song died as he threw it in the water and it’s a battery toy. So it’s silent now. I think this is from Bob the Builder, but having never watched the show, I am not sure. He also has a secondhand tent bought from a Church bazaar. We don’t talk about it being a Bob the Builder tent. We just say “Here’s a tent! Wow. Cool!”

5. Cookie Monster Doll: Present from my sister when he was 9 months. I think he had a mild interest in it before, but he doesn’t seem so interested now.

6. Beijing Olympic Logo Dolls. Yes. All six of them. Stuffed toys. Gift from friend here. He likes these a lot. Carts them around his yellow wagon.

7. John Deere Tractor book. He LOVES this book shaped like a tractor. My parents have a John Deere he sat on this summer. He’s probably hooked—yeah, a lifer for this product, for sure. This company will make some serious money from him if he is ever in the market for a tractor. I myself am very partial to John Deere tractors as it was part of my childhood and my parents still have the same tractor from when I was 9 years old.

8. Dora the Explorer book. Gift from my sister. He loved this. We took it to Mr. Mok to get it fixed two times as it sang tunes in Spanish and English. Unfortunately, it just died so I had to hide it as Keohi would get frustrated that the mechanism was busted and would demand we see Mok for hours and hours. Recently pulled it out again.

I think that’s the product wrap up in our house for the Under 3 set. It’s quite a lot, really. And he does know who Mickey Mouse is—he’s watched the cartoon at a friend’s house. My guess is that he will associate Winnie the Pooh with his childhood, buy a John Deere tractor, and have a thing about the Olympic logos.

YUM. It’s been a good food week. Mostly due to my friend Kathline, Olivia and C. Headed up to her place on Thursday. Hey, Stephanie, she says…you want some papaya salad? And she picks a green one and whips up the best salad with grated carrots, fish sauce, chili peppers, and I’ll have to find out what else. It was very very good. Food is always excellent at her place. Kathline is an excellent cook, deals South African wine, sews beautiful clothes for her daughter, digs her own (no joke) coy pond and swimming pool, grows liliquoi and lemongrass and rolls out her own dumpling skins. The closest thing I can think of is Martha Stewart meets 4-H, plus she’s from Mainland China. A pretty amazing woman. I’m not really sure that there isn’t anything she can’t do. Most significantly, her food is awesome. So a good lunch at hers put me in a great mood for the next day.

The day after, Olivia came by with a fantastic and simple dessert. Take the skins you’d use to roll out spring rolls or wonton, fill with some mashed banana and brown sugar. Fry. Delicious. Hot and crispy is the best.

Then Saturday, after the Cantonese class, we ate some fried chicken wings made by C. It’s a Filipino dish: partially boiled first, then fried with garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and probably some other secret thing that I will ask her about. Very crispy and very good. Forget those plain old chicken wings.

It was a good food week. No wonder I’m happy.

I’ve noticed that the province folks from the Philippines tend to make and eat better types of food. C. climbs a tree to pick leaves for soup with mung beans and ground pork, and understands fresh ingredients. Often if you are really in a very very rural area, you have to grow your own food so you understand the importance of fresh produce. Plus, no money to buy. And the city folk without money, and even those with, head to the frozen food section or microwave all the time.

After dinner Keohi was not tired (bed eventually at 11PM) so at around 8, we headed out so Stephen could do some work, and went looking for drums and dragons. Tai Tei Tong Square was kicking as someone was having a birthday celebration. The village was alive. The woks were going outside under the corrugated tin roof BBQ area, and kids were running with soccer balls and cycling like mad around the plastic chairs. There was a happy birthday sign over a group of tables. We got a peek at the dragons in the village room where they store the dragons and drums and Keohi kept telling me how he was going to drum. He can hardly control himself anymore when he sees a drum. He runs towards it and just stands over it, barely able to maintain himself and he really exhibits a good deal of control, so every now and then I let him bang it once or twice.

The temple interior was lit up. Keohi pointed to the pictures on the door, wooden figures of warrior or guards and told me those were kings. I was glad to hear him say that. I corrected him, told him they were guarding the temple. Given the images of books and the predominance of European featured men in the children’s book illustrations I was glad to see that he could transfer that idea of what constitutes a king to an Asian face. That said, I did buy him a book with a Chinese Emperor, a very nice book called THE EMPTY POT, to balance out that idea some months back. Inside the temple was an old gong. We’re having discussions on a daily basis (hourly even) about how you cannot go into the temple and start hitting the gong without asking. We had it again. The fierce looking god is in an enclosed glass box and Keohi and I talk about how ghosts used to be people, and Keohi tells me that this god in the box is a father. Have to find out what type of figure it is, really, but that sounds about right.

We head back to Luk Tei Tong and the temple there and we luck out! Some dragon and drum folk still going! And one guy lets Keohi drum on an enormous drum—he hand him his drumsticks. Dream come true! Keohi does some banging—a little timid at first, and then I tell him, hey, you’d better drum loud and a lot right now because this is your opportunity. So he drums and drums and it’s around 10PM now so the police come. And all they see is Keohi drumming away. The guys had gone inside the temple. So they’re weirded out. How do you give a citation for noise to a 2 year old, right? I was about to yell JEUK HEUI to the police. It means “Arrest him!” to the police, but thought they might not get the joke.

All good times must come to an end. We close up shop quick—hand over the drumsticks to the guys in the temple and are told that people have been complaining about the noise.

BUT HEY COME ON—who is complaining? Who are you? We live in a Chinese village. What do you think young people are going to do? Wouldn’t you rather have them drumming and practicing the dragon dance than vandalizing, or getting fall down drunk and vomiting all over the square and shooting heroin? People make no sense.

SO HEY, if it is ANY OF YOU ENGLISH READERS OUT THERE COMPLAINING. JUST STOP IT. YOU LIVE IN HONG KONG IN A VILLAGE. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

Now complaining about mad karaoke singing to Killing Me Softly for 3 hours at full blast is another thing. But cultural practices such as drumming are to be protected and people should really not complain. I’m not always a fan of it myself, but that’s just part of life here.

OK, no more ranting… The evening ended on another good food/drink note. Stephen and I drank the bottle of champagne given to my for a birthday gift from Liam and Maddy. And then ate it with blue cheese, crackers, and some of Kathline’s stash of very large dried whole shrimp from Xing Dao. Wow. Very good combo.

So life continues in Mui Wo, Lantau. Where the children are young, the drums go continuously, the cows stop bike traffic, and the po-pos (Cantonese grandmas) are grumpy.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Low point: Ever wander around aimlessly in Kwai Fong? No? Missed that hot spot? You mean, you don’t know about Minico Storage in Kwai Fong? You’re missin’ out…Well, gee, howz about hanging out at the gas station in ole Tung Chung. You know, the one near the interchange that is sort of like a truck stop.

Yes, it was one of those, how shall I put it—admin-errand-running-in-China days.It’s been like that all week. My life has now descended into these mundane details. After Kwai Fung and cruising around on a bus in Tung Chung to who knows where, I did get home 7 hours later. Choice: taxi ride $$$$ that makes me feel like vomiting vs. taking a bus in hopes of getting home before 5PM for cheap.

Well. I now have a sofa.

Please ask if you want the information on a truly aimless bus ride of one’s life. It was a kind of Jean Paul Sartre day. NO EXIT … from Kwai Fong. Or NO EXIT from Tung Chung. Or NO EXIT … from my bad Chinese language skills.

Question: How does the hideous architecture of modern Asian cities buildings that are seemingly erected as a monument to ugliness, affect the mental outlook of its black lung inhabitants?

Question: Why do the majority of foods courts in malls around the world serve bad food?

Question: Are Mui Wo police bored? Or just ineffectual.

Question: 3 toilets and 80 children in a local primary school. No library. No improvements in 70 years. Why doesn’t the government deal with this?

Some memories of the week:

From the kitchen guy: “You can’t reach your upper kitchen cabinet? X and X can. It’s the same height as their kitchen.”

From me: “But they are 6 feet tall.”

From the kitchen guy: “Maybe I have to add a shelf.”

From the stone guy: “Can you find your own aluminum legs?” WHAT – it’s not like those words are in the Cantonese dictionary, sorry. Go ahead, try looking up “I need two aluminum or steel legs to support 290 pounds of granite.” And quit trying to sell me a granite Corinthian column. “You find in Mongkok.”

From me: (thoughts…evil pathetic thoughts, at least according to everyone in HK)…I HATE MONGKOK. I HATE SHOPPING. DO NOT TELL ME I WILL FIND IT IN MONGKOK-home of the acid throwing lunatic who sprays people as they are shopping. DO NOT TELL ME THAT SHOPPING IS NOT SO BAD.

From the kitchen guy: “Your stone guy not taking responsibility.”

From repair guys: “Yes, the paint definitely looks like two different colors on this door.”

From the agency: “The electrician does not want to install the light.”

From C: “There is cat poo all over the front of the house. You have sand.” Our entire front is the stray cats of Mui Wo litter box.

From me to a friend: “I have a very nice sewage pipe.”

From Keohi: “Stop being so impatient.” Crying. Yes, I feel guilt.

From Handyman: “Take it or leave it. Yes, extra charge of 50USD because I have to pay for lunch.”

From me: “But the job only takes one hour.”

From friend: “You’re moving. Good thing. Your gas tank under your sink now should actually be outside of your house. Very dangerous. You could burn down the building.”

From government education bureau: “But this is our policy. Statistics show that the population of Hong Kong’s young people is decreasing. There is no demand for a school in your area.” They refuse to examine distribution of population. Bureaucrats. Not surprised. Just annoyed.

From me: “I pulled a muscle in my back.”

From Keohi: “I want a big Christmas tree.”

From me: “What about a kid size tree?” I am thinking of the small plastic tree underneath our kitchen sink stored there with cotton fake snow on it since last Christmas.

From Grandma to Keohi on skype videochat: “No, you want a big tree, right?”

From Keohi: “I want a big one.”

From me in a text to Stephen: “I will not discuss laundry and drycleaning. Liaise with C.”

From Stephen to me in a text: “Calm down. Get a grip. You are a lovable loon.”

From me to Stephen in a text: “I love you but I cannot talk about drycleaning anymore.”

From Stephen to Keohi: “The firemen will repair the red fire hat you had and send you another one.”

From Me to Stephen/Keohi: “Stephen, I B-O-U-G-H-T a Y-E-L-L-O-W one. You like yellow, Keohi?”

From Keohi: “I like red.”

From friend: “Have you been writing?”

From Keohi: “I want Daddy.” Spoken while crying after I was again, impatient, and gave a frown.

Overall. A week that passes without much happening. But significance in some things:

a) Reminder not to be in a rush when it comes to Keohi, if at all possible. So what if it takes 5 more minutes to put on some shoes. I’ll be sad when he runs out the door soon enough and wish he hung out for 5 more minutes.

b) Stone in China is very very cheap. But if given a choice between a slab of stone and a quick jaunt to Bali, a pile of books, or not spending it at all, avoid the slab of stone. Yes, it is nice to roll out pastry on stone, but one should not resume the old habits of baking and eating a dozen scones in one go.

c) I have to remember that this is not the West. Even if at times, it is boring, uncomfortable, nonsensical, and enraging, at times. Kind of in Step 3 of cultural transition after 18 months—but not, I realize, fully there. Every now and then, the Step 2 stuff creeps in. Need to check that. And the woman at the storage place was very nice. Now I know Kwai Fong. And I know not to take the bus around Tung Chung and that Stephen’s laksa noodles taste better than the ones at the food court.

d) Be relieved that I am not in the group of 1 out of every 8 Americans on food stamps.

e) I should have read Stendahl’s The Red and the Black when I was 20. It might have influenced me in a profound way. Remember to give it to Keohi when he’s in high school. Should have read that along with Kerouac’s On the Road…

Holiday season about to start and am contemplating the bottle of unopened champagne right this minute.

Keohi the Drummer 2009

South Lantau Fair Fall 2009

Butterflies Everywhere 2009

One of Lantau's extraordinary insects. The kind that does not leave you scratching....

Butterfly South Lantau 2009

Stunning and elusive

Green Bananas, 2009

We have to wait until they turn yellow...

Keohi and Steph in South Lantau 2009

Hiking past the gravesite. Beautiful.

I Need a Hug from Dada

Everyone feels better now

Hiking South Lantau 2009

Up the trail to Tung Chung

Baby Kaii and Katie 2009

Friends in the village

Hanging in front of the Lam's House

Helmet, ball, dinosaur undies, and slippers. Life is good.

Watermelon at the pink table 2009

I want the BIG PIECE. NO. THE BIG PIECE. Good. Finally you listened to me.

Halloween Family Pic 2009

American Halloween in Mui Wo 2009

Pirates from Luk Tei Tong

Getting ready to loot Downtown Mui Wo Halloween 2009

Halloween 2009

I'm a pirate, matey...note my matching diaper

Lawnmower Fall 2009

Mowing the lawn in my bike helmet and pink Wellies...

Keohi with sunglasses and bike--looking like Dada...

This my bike. MY BIKE.

Christian Zheng Sheng Association forum

Mui Wo gathers in the gym

Keohi and the Christian Zheng Sheng Assoc.

This is Democracy

May 2009 Keohi in Shades

Earth Tones...

Keohi, Grandma, and His Wheels

A gift from Grandma

Playtown, Kennedy Town, HK

Family Outing...Playtown!

The Hong Kong Insect Bite Index (HKIB)

The 2009 Mosquito Season officially over...sort of. November 24, 2009. The season's last mosquito killed by Stephen at 3AM.

First mosquito bite of 2009. Yup. Last night. On my back. February 5, 2009.The season begins...anticipating a wild rally in the upcoming months due to the killing of OBGB's indigenous frogs.And we have Japanese Encephalitis in our area. Isn't that swell?